Dispensing container for material under pressure



J. B. RESWICK 2,765,965 DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR MATERIAL UNDER PRESSURE Oct. 9, 1956 Filed May 5, 1955 Fig. 3

IN V EN TOR. JAM ES B. RESWICK mad?! ATTORN EYS United States Patent 2,765,965! DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR MATERIAL UNDER PRESSURE James B. Reswick, Wellesley, Mass. Application May 5, 1953, Serial No. 353,139 2 Claims. (Cl. 222394)' The present invention relates to dispensing containers and is more particularly concerned with dispensing liquids, powders and other materials from containers which are charged with gas under pressure. Such containers are widely used for dispensing whipped cream, lather, deodorant, insecticides, etc., sometimes in the form of a spray and sometimes in a foam.

The construction of such containers has in general been rather complicated. Since the containers are intended to be thrown away after the contents have been used, the actuator must be of inexpensive construction and this has resulted in devices which frequently do not function satisfactorily, either from the standpoint of reliability or ease of operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing container of the type referred to above, but of inexpensive construction and simple and reliable in operation.

A further object is to provide a dispensing container from which substantially all of the contents can be discharged without waste before the gas pressure is lost or reduced to an ineffective value.

With this object in view the present invention comprises a dispensing container hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the preferred form of dispensing container, said figure showing the preferred construction of a container for materials such as shaving cream and toothpaste which are aerated by the gas.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation illustrating a detail of the valve actuator and Fig. 3 is a detail sectional elevation of an actuator for spraying or atomizing fluids.

The device shown in Fig. 1 comprises a can 6 which is of conventional sealed construction, except for an opening 8 at the top, which opening is surrounded with a small tubular portion 10. Received within the can 6 is an inverted sleeve 12 (of metal or plastic) provided with a closed upper end 13 having a conical boss 14 to seal the opening 8. The sleeve is of nearly the full diameter of the can in order to leave a small annular eduction space 16. The bottom of the sleeve rests on the bottom of the can and the sleeve is provided with small notches in its bottom edge as indicated at 18. The sleeve is filled with the material to be dispensed, suitably charged with gas in accordance with well known techniques. Preferably the sleeve is filled with the charged material in a frozen condition and the sleeve may then be placed in the can, after which the top of the can is applied in the usual manner. Upon thawing of the contents, the gas pressure holds the seal member 14 tightly within the opening in the top of the can.

A simple actuator is provided for dispensing the contents. It comprises a lever 26 having a hook portion 22 adapted to hook over the usual sealing flange of the can, and it has a valve pusher 24 which is positioned to be received within the tubular portion 10 of the can top. The pusher 24 is arranged to engage the top of the seal 14. As shown in Fig. 2 the bottom surface of the pusher 24 is formed with grooves 26. A vertical opening 28 through the pusher communicates with a longitudinal opening 30 in the lever proper, which opening extends to the outer surface of the lever. The rear of the lever is formed as a thumb presser member 32.

Upon pressing the lever downwardly the seal 14 is pushed away from the opening 8, thereby allowing the contents to flow through the annular eduction space 16 and then through the groove 26 to the openings 28 and 30, this flow being caused by the pressure of the gas within the sleeve 12. It will be observed that the pusher 24 is of the same diameter as the internal walls of the flange 1d and hence serves to seal the opening against leakage past the pusher, whereby the material is constrained to flow through the opening 30.

The device shown in Fig. 1 is particularly suitable for dispensing soft materials such as shaving cream, toothpaste, whipped cream, etc. The actuator shown in Fig.

is an atomizing device for fluids, such as spray deodorants, insecticides and the like. The construction differs somewhat from that shown in Fig. 1 in that the fluid is obliged to pass through two orifices in series. The actuator lever is shown at 36 and has the vertical opening 38 and the longitudinal opening 40, the latter terminating in a nozzle insert 42. The opening 38 is provided at the bottom with a drawn insert 44 which is pierced to form orifices 46. The bottom surface of the insert 44 serves as the valve pusher to push the seal 14 away from the opening. It will be seen that the liquid is obliged to pass in series through the orifices 46 and the nozzle 42, whereby the desired atomizing effect is obtained. In order to provide the seal and thus to prevent leakage of liquid around the lever, a flexible rubber sealing plug or washer 48 is provided around the stem of the insert 44.. The tubular member 10' is of sufficient height to provide a considerable area of contact between the flexible washer and the flange when the lever is depressed.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. For example, the sleeve 12 instead of being of circular section, may be provided with one or more longitudinal corrugations for eduction of contents, in which case the sleeve proper may be made to fit closely within the can.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A dispensing container having an end with an opening, a tubular portion surrounding the opening, an internal sleeve being of nearly the full height of the container and having a closed top portion with means to close said opening, the sleeve being adapted to contain material under pressure, said sleeve being supported on the bottom of the container and having an opening at the bottom to communicate with an eduction passage adjacent to the inner Wall of the container, and a manually operable actuator provided with a portion to fit within said tubular portion and to engage and depress the seal, the actuator having a passage for discharge of material forced out of the container by the internal pressure.

2. A dispensing container having an end with an opening, a tubular portion surrounding the opening, an internal sleeve to contain material under pressure and having a closed top with a seal member to close said opening, said sleeve being of nearly the full height of the container, the sleeve being supported on the bottom of the container and having an opening at the bottom to communicate with an annular eduction passage adjacent the inner wall of the container, and a manually operable actuator provided with a portion to fit within said tubular portion and to engage and depress the seal, the actuator having a passage for discharge of material forced out of the container by the internal pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,376,404 Thorns May 22, 1945 2,580,188 Nilsen Dec. 25, 1951 2,645,387 Kahn July 14, 1953 2,691,466 Efford et a1 Oct. 12, 1954 

